All News articles – Page 137
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NewsWorld Speed Survey 2007: New lines boost rail's high speed performance
With Eurostar celebrating its first high speed run between Paris and London's St Pancras station on September 4, the latest biennial World Speed Survey published in the September 2007 issue of Railway Gazette International confirms that construction of new high speed lines is helping to make inter-city rail travel more ...
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Zhibo wheelset venture formed
A JOINT venture to establish China's largest wheelset overhaul plant was agreed by Lucchini Sidermeccanica and Zhibo Transport Equipment on July 27. The Italian firm has a 25% stake in Zhibo Lucchini Railway Equipment (Zhiqi), with the 75% majority share in the venture owned by Zhibo, a subsidiary of Shanxi ...
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Stockholm invites tram bids
STORSTOCKHOLMS Localtrafik has called for expressions of interest in a concession to extend, operate and maintain the Djurgården tram line. The project will see part of the current heritage tramway to Djurgården expanded into a conventional light rail operation, and the construction of a new section from the present terminus ...
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Intelligence September 2007
Africa: Railway authorities in Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland have agreed the exchange and training of train crews and an operational partnership that calls for international standards for the repair of locos and rolling stock. Mozambican drivers have started work on Swazi and South African locos, and operating manuals are ...
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Restructured Transnet to spend
INVESTMENT totalling R78bn over the next five years was announced by Maria Ramos, CEO of South Africa's state-owned transport holding group Transnet, on July 23. The money is intended 'to expand the capacity of our ports, rail freight and pipeline assets', she said. Ramos was speaking at the launch of ...
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People in the News
On August 16 QR Chairman John Prescott announced the appointment of Lance Hockridge as the Queensland railway’s new CEO. He is currently President North American at BlueScope Steel, a position which includes responsibility for European and Middle East operations. His previous roles have included Group General Manager ...
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Leasing finance
BABCOCK & Brown announced on August 1 the establishment of a new company to develop CBRail, the European operating lease financing company it formed in September 2004 as a joint venture with Bank of Scotland Corporate Asset Finance. The new company has a €390m long-term financing platform to enable the ...
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Not a wheel is turning on the Betuwe Route
TWO MONTHS ago we reported the formal opening of the Betuwe Route by Queen Beatrix on June 16 (RG 7.07 p419). By July 15 just 10 freight trains had passed over the line each way. That's 10 a month, not 10 a day. And infrastructure operator Keyrail imposed a three-day ...
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Armenia starts concessioning
THE GOVERNMENT of Armenia has invited prequalification bids for a 30-year concession to modernise and operate the country's rail network, with an option for a further 20-year extension. Minister of Transport & Communications Andranikl Manukyan says expressions of interest are due by September 14, with shortlisted bidders to be announced ...
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NewsTangula Railtours launching luxury train to Tibet
Tangula Railtours has placed contracts for three five-star cruise trains offering luxury travel over the world's highest railway
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Tehran Line 3 funded
CHAIRMAN of Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway Co Mohsen Hashemi signed an agreement covering the financing of Tehran Metro Line 3 with the Bank of Industry & Mines on July 25. The bank will provide US$100m to permit work to begin this year on the 7 km first phase of ...
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Cádiz progress
TWO new double-track sections on the Sevilla - Cádiz route were officially brought into service on July 27 in the presence of Spanish Development Minister Magdalena ?lvarez. In addition to track doubling, under a €700m project level crossings are being eliminated, with new alignments constructed in certain locations. The power ...
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CD Cargo to split
ON JULY 25 the Czech cabinet approved plans to hive off CD's freight business as an independent subsidiary CD Cargo. Target date for the split is April 1 2008, subject to the legislation being passed by parliament in November. The move will complete a railway restructuring programme started in ...
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NewsSBB lifts ETCS speed limit
UP TO 180 trains a day are now running at 200 km/h on Swiss metals thanks to the introduction of cab signalling with ETCS Level 2 on the new line between Mattstetten and Rothrist. Swiss Federal Railways had intended to operate at 200 km/h with Level 2 when the 45 ...
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KCRC Lok Ma Chau branch opens
OFFICIALS from Hong Kong and Shenzhen, including Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and Kowloon–Canton Railway Corp Chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun, participated in the celebrations on August 15 to mark the opening of KCRC's 7·4 km East Rail branch from Sheung Shui to Lok Ma Chau. Served by through trains from ...
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Strasbourg light rail network grows
THE FIRST extensions to open under Strasbourg's 2007-08 light rail expansion programme (RG 4.06 p202) were due to carry their first passengers on August 25. Line C was due to grow by 5 km from Esplanade to Neuhof Rodolphe Reuss, sharing track between Landsberg and Jean Jaurès with a ...
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NewsLimited vision in white paper's growth plans
'IT IS THE most ambitious strategy for growth on the railways in over 50 years', claimed UK Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly, when she launched the white paper Delivering a Sustainable Railway on July 24. Together with an accompanying Rail Technical Strategy, the white paper outlines the government's ...
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Georgian Railways concession announced
ECONOMIC Development Minister Giorgi Arveladze announced on August 16 that the cabinet had approved the transfer of Georgian Railways from the government to UK-based Parkfield Investments Ltd. The concession period was originally announced as 89 years, but amended to 99 years when the Prime Minister signed the decree. Arveladze ...
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Product news
Low-emission engine certified MTU'S low-emission 12V4000 R33 locomotive engine has received US Environmental Protection Agency Tier 2 emission standard certification. The 2 250 hp engine is optimised for rail use, and equipped with MTU's second-generation common fuel injection, water-cooled exhaust and turbochargers, and advanced ...
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Mendoza bids
THE ARGENTINIAN government has invited bids for a turnkey contract to build a high speed line between Buenos Aires and Mendoza, currently 1 058 km by rail from the capital. As with the route to Córdoba where the Veloxia consortium has been selected (RG 8.07 p504), bidders have been asked ...